Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made a big mistake when he declared that Republicans would not confirm any Supreme Court nominee appointed by President Obama in this election year. For starters, it makes Republican senators, several of whom are defending closely contested seats in purple states, look purely obstructionist and opportunist. The same goes for […]
Obama Administration
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Nine Battleground States that Could Flip the Senate — and the Supreme Court
A Democratic president needs a Democratic majority in the Senate to turn around the high court. Here are the states that could make the difference in 2016.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Obama’s ‘Better Politics’ Rhetoric Lacks Solutions
President Obama’s Springfield, Illinois, speech Wednesday was billed as a first step in his lame-duck quest to begin building a “better politics,” in part, through new campaign-finance reforms. But the lofty rhetoric that failed to include any detailed policy proposals was a familiar letdown for campaign-finance reformers hungry for solutions. Instead, what they got was […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
For Trade Deal, Bad News Keeps Mounting
Election-year jitters and bad economic signs cloud outlook on Capitol Hill for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
McConnell Uses Misinformation to Protect Secret Political Donors
How the Kentucky senator is trying to block an executive order on political spending.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Democratic Senators Up Pressure on SEC Disclosure
A handful of Democratic senators who sit on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee have stepped up pressure on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to require corporations to comprehensively disclose their political spending, even though Congress limited the agency’s ability to do so in last year’s spending bill. Senators Elizabeth Warren of […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Obama ‘Seriously Considering’ Contractor Executive Order
The New York Times reported Wednesday that President Obama is “seriously considering” an executive order that would require federal contractors to more fully disclose their political spending, a move that campaign reform advocates say would be a symbolic first step toward shining a light on undisclosed “dark” money. The Times report follows increased pressure from […]
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Race and Representation in the Twilight of the Obama Era
Will the eight years of America’s first black president lead to more political voice for black citizens—or less?
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Is Obama Finally Getting Real on Money in Politics?
Campaign-finance reform advocates were on high alert during President Obama’s final State of the Union address Tuesday night, looking for any indication that Obama might finally take steps to curtail the influence of money in the political system. For months, reform advocates have been running a pressure campaign aimed at pushing the White House to […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
President of the Disunited States
Could Obama have done a better job bringing us together? No way!
